Overview
- Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Wednesday that he will reduce 16 felony eavesdropping counts against Officer Daniel Flores to 16 misdemeanors.
- Prosecutors say Flores secretly made roughly 122 recordings in 2024 while assigned to the LAPD Recruitment and Employment Division that captured racist, sexist and homophobic remarks by other officers.
- Hochman’s office still contends Flores broke California’s all‑party‑consent law and has filed court papers alleging Flores deceptively edited some tapes and had personal motives for recording.
- Separately, an internal LAPD inquiry found Flores guilty in a different matter and gave him a 22‑day suspension while the department has opened confidential disciplinary reviews of the officers heard on the tapes.
- If a judge approves diversion, Flores would typically follow court conditions for about a year and could have the charges dismissed, a shift that prosecutors say balances privacy law enforcement with concerns about deterring internal reporting.